A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, takes off at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, May 5, 2026. (Nathaniel Jackson/U.S. Air Force)
Two squadrons of F-22 Raptors recently arrived at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa for rotational duty with the 18th Wing, while a permanent fleet of replacement F-15EX Eagle IIs remains delayed.
The multirole fighters with the 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., arrived at Kadena this month, according to an unsigned email from the wing on Wednesday.
Twelve aircraft from Alaska touched down at the base on Saturday and Sunday, the Okinawa Times reported on Monday without citing a source.
The aircraft, its crews and maintainers “will integrate with the 18th Wing’s operations and maintenance groups, as well as joint and allied partners, to refine tactics, strengthen interoperability and sustain readiness for real-world contingencies,” a Wednesday news release from the wing states.
Interoperability refers to the ability of one country’s military to use the training and equipment of another country’s military.
During the deployment, the wing will “continue to comply with applicable bilateral agreements with the Government of Japan regarding noise abatement,” the release states.
The F-22 is a stealth aircraft capable of performing air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Its sensor capabilities allow the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected, according to an Air Force fact sheet. The fighters cost $143 million each.
The Air Force began rotating fighter squadrons to Kadena in late 2022 as it phased out its aging F-15C/D fleet. The rotations have included F-22s, F-35A Lightning IIs, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons.
Two F-35A Lightning II squadrons — the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the 356th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska — returned to their home bases this month, according to the wing.
In January, F-16s with the 120th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Buckley Space Force Base, Colo., replaced Fighting Falcons with the 119th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J., which returned home the same month, according to an unsigned wing email April 29.
The Air Force announced plans in July 2024 to permanently station 36 F-15EX Eagle II fighters on Okinawa to replace the aging fleet of 48 F-15C/D aircraft.
In February, the Air Force delayed delivery of the multirole fighters due to a strike at Boeing’s St. Louis plant between Aug. 4 and Nov. 17. The aircraft were expected to arrive between March and June.
Ann Stefanek, spokeswoman for the Secretary of the Air Force, by email April 28 said she did not have an updated timeline for the aircraft’s arrival.
The move is part of a broader effort to deploy more advanced combat aircraft across Japan. An undisclosed number of F-35A Lightning II aircraft arrived March 28 at Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan, the first of 48 planned to replace the base’s fleet of 36 F-16s.
AloJapan.com